THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING LAPTOP

Dec 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By JACQUELINE EMIGH

As computers get smaller and easier to lift, PC theft statistics rise. Anti-theft solutions, however, are no longer limited to traditional locks and cables. Vendors are responding to laptop theft with a variety of sophisticated technologies, ranging from motion detection systems to “stealth” software and biometric readers.

In 2001, a total of 591,000 laptop PCs were lost to theft, an increase of 53 percent over the previous year, according to statistics compiled by SafeWare Insurance. In contrast, only 15,000 desktop PCs were nabbed in 2001, a decrease of 6 percent from the previous year.

Often, computer theft is driven by profit. For example:

• During the first week of November, federal government offices in Johannesburg, South Africa, were robbed at gunpoint of 50 computers, together with a surveillance tape. Two security guards were tied up with rope for three hours.

• At the end of October, the Internet auction site eBay helped campus police at North Carolina State University recover 20 Dell C840 laptops, 20 laptop power supplies, and 15 model 250 Zip drives.

In other cases, thieves are less interested in taking a computer than in making off with intriguing information:

• An IBM Thinkpad laptop owned by Qualcomm CEO Irwin Jacobs disappeared from a stage while he was giving a speech. The PC held highly sensitive corporate information, e-mail, personal financial statements and digitized photos of Jacobs' grandchildren.

• In the U.K., an old laptop holding valuable scientific research was stolen from the laboratory at Cambridge University's Department of Anatomy. The PC contained brain wave recordings of cerebral palsy victims from birth through their first birthdays.

Stories like these are prompting many users to invest in products that will protect their laptops.

“I'm a lawyer, and one of my clients is located at Los Angeles Airport. Each time I visit this client, I have to go through airport security. After reading about all the laptop thefts, I became concerned that something might happen to my PC at the airport,” says William Cowden, who recently started using a new hardware encryption product called SecuriKey Personal Edition.

Three strategies

Products and services on the market fall into three categories. Some offerings — ranging from cables to motion detection systems — protect against theft. Others, such as stealth software, help find machines that are already lost. Others, including encryption products and biometric devices, are meant to protect data from competitors and other unauthorized eyes.

Many experts advise taking a multi-pronged approach. Consequently, hybrid products are also emerging that range across two or more of the categories.

Cable locks, etc.

About 40 percent of all laptop thefts take place inside company walls, according to research by the Kensington Technology Group. Traditional solutions such as cable locks, docking stations and lockdown systems are simple to use and relatively inexpensive, often selling for less than $50. Vendors include Kensington, Targus Group Intl., Anchor Pad Intl., Kryptonite, PC Guardian and Computer Security Products.

But an experienced thief can easily cut through wire. Locks also require oversight by individual end-users. “The most effective products are those that the user doesn't even have to spend 15 seconds on,” says Yves Berliet, president and CEO of STOP (Security Tracking of Office Property).

Alarm systems

Some computer alarm systems only sound an alert when the PC becomes disconnected from the network. These benefits, however, don't translate very well to laptops, since many are disconnected from the network regularly. Other alarms are too big and bulky to do a laptop any good.

Kensington and Defcon, however, each make special “laptop alarms” that sound an alarm whenever the lock becomes disturbed.

Motion detection

Laptops are being stolen from offices, airplanes, trains, cars, hotels and even airport security checkpoints. TrackIt Corp. produces a $59.95 device that combines motion detection with an alarm system. The laptop owner carries a mobile sensor that communicates over radio waves with a transmitter inside the laptop case. If the laptop moves beyond a predetermined distance, the alarm sounds.

Tattoos

PC “tattooing” is another approach. “It's much more difficult to recover a machine after it's been lost than to prevent the theft in the first place. We protect laptops the way ‘The Club’ protects automobiles,” STOP's Berliet says.

The STOP system centers on tamper-resistant, barcoded plates that leave a permanent “tattoo” mark on the PC — even if the plate is removed. STOP also offers an international tracking database and recovery system, accessible at any time over the phone.

Stealth software

Agent-based stealth software helps find missing machines by broadcasting a phone number or IP address when the PC goes online. Examples include Absolute Software's Computrace; sHoming Pigeon from ZeaSoft; Cyber Angel from Computer Sentry Software; and Lucira Technologies' Secure PC.

Most products in this category work in conjunction with Web-based asset tracking systems operated by vendors. In the near future, Absolute plans to augment its stealth software and Web site with encryption and distributed firewall systems, notes John Livingston, Absolute's president and CEO.

Disk and file encryption

Disk encryption software “scrambles” the data on the PC hard drive, making all information unreadable to anyone except authorized individuals. File encryption software does much the same, but for user-selected files only. Microsoft's Windows 2000 and XP each come with built-in file encryption functionality.

A big problem with encryption, though, is that data can be lost if the user makes a mistake or if the encryption software suddenly goes haywire. According to SecuriKey president and CEO Bennett Griffin, the new SecuriKey Personal Edition encyption device can prevent this problem with a built-in disk encryption chip that connects directly into the PC's USB port. Users can remove the “key” to ensure protection when away from the computer.

“The key is so tiny that I carry it on my keychain,” Cowden says. “If you pull the key out of the USB port while the PC is running, the screen goes blank, even though the computer continues to operate its applications in the background.”

Like many other attorneys, Cowden has multiple clients. When he's working in a client's office, he's satisfied that other clients' sensitive legal information will be safe from view, even if he's called out of the room for a few minutes.

“I can also write out checks on my laptop, without worrying that someone will see my personal financial information,” he adds. For an extra layer of security, SecuriKey Personal Edition offers built-in password protection.

Biometrics

Biometric systems can protect data by making it impossible for people with the wrong biometric characteristics to access the machine. So far, fingerprint systems have made the most inroads on the laptop side. Targus, for instance, produces the Defcon PC Card Fingerprint Authenticator, a fingerprint reader that plugs directly into the PC Card slot.

Voiceprints

Biometric voiceprint systems are more accurate and harder to fool, according to some experts. Until recently, most voiceprint systems have required a network or phone line connection to a server in order to work. At the start of next year, however, Vocent Technologies will unveil a voiceprint verification system that resides on laptops, according to Chuck Buffum, Vocent's president and CEO.

More and more miniaturization

Down the road, mobile devices are sure to become even smaller and easier to steal. Some experts are even predicting that Microsoft's new tablet PCs will overtake much of the current laptop market within the next few years.

Right now, the market for smaller mobile devices such as PDAs and tablets still remains quite fragmented. However, vendors are already working on anti-theft products that will support emerging mobile OS like Windows CE and PalmOS.

For the record

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jacqueline Emigh is a 12-year veteran of technology journalism and a freelance writer for iSecurity.

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

Visit www.securitysolutions.com for more information on companies featured in this article, or circle the card number.

Absolute Software — 125
Anchor Pad Intl. — 126
Computer Security Products — 127
Computer Sentry Software — 128
Defcon — 129
Kensington Technology Group — 130
Kryptonite — 131
Lucira Technologies — 132
PC Guardian — 133
SecuriKey — 134
STOP — 135
Targus Group Intl. — 136
TrackIt Corp. — 137
Vocent Technologies — 138
ZeaSoft — 139

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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